by Noah Barnett
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE Character Creation
CHAPTER TWO Match
CHAPTER THREE All work...
CHAPTER FOUR Casual Lessons
CHAPTER FIVE Fog Lifted
CHAPTER SIX Second Match
CHAPTER SEVEN Beach House
CHAPTER EIGHT Mugs and Mugged
CHAPTER NINE Blood and Pride
CHAPTER TEN GMO Intro
CHAPTER ELEVEN Gun Trials
CHAPTER TWELVE Duel
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Battle Royal
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Intermission
CHAPTER FIFTEEN July 4th
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Love Bites
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Bloody the Water
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Crazy Girls...
CHAPTER NINETEEN War of the Worlds
CHAPTER TWENTY Roth Landing
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Landing Pt2
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Cheesecake
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Dropship
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Dropship Pt2
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Spoils of War
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Testing Range
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Halloween Pt1
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Halloween Pt2
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Shuttle Launch
CHAPTER THIRTY Spacebunnies
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Attack on Mars
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Roth Outpost
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE Return Home
Noah Barnett
Copyright © 2018 Noah Barnett
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9989654-2-0
"A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human."
— Alan Turing
CHAPTER ONE
Character Creation
Gun Meister Online loading…
Logging into server…
New Player Detected…
Initiating Character Creation…
The game began with an embryo as it floated serenely in the blue-green amniotic fluid. The tiny sexless creature had more in common with a tadpole than an unborn child. It was suspended in a five foot tall cylindrical tube and robotic arms hung from the top with surgical tools.
Slowly a cloning laboratory became visible, which was clinically white. Tubes filled with the same amniotic fluid lined the walls, and as Charlie looked down, he was caught in a moment of vertigo. Through a thick glass floor, thousands of embryonic capsules stretched away into oblivion.
A display appeared in his view. The simple user interface was an opaque white box containing a symbol for each gender. Charlie reached forward touching [Male], and a mix of preset ethnic bodies appeared on the screen. He decided on a tall blond Eastern European, and began to customize the preset character. As he worked, the arms within the tube moved, and little injectors slid into the embryo to prepare his changes.
The generic male face narrowed with a proud chin, thin upturned lips under a hooked nose, and deep set eyes. Charlie gave the character short dirty blond hair, and changed the pupils to brown with flecks of green and gray. His avatar ended up looking like a younger version of himself, but without the imperfections of real life. Though he did add a tiny scar to his right eyebrow, which came from falling out of a tree as a young boy.
At the bottom of the display he hit accept, then confirmed his decision and waited. The body of the infant began to grow. Arms and legs lengthened as hair grew from the boy's scalp. Bubbles filled the cylinder as the child aged. Soon it was a juvenile adult and its brown eyes opened. Although its expression was blank, the boy smiled dimpling cute cheeks. More windows appeared on the console.
"Please select your character’s statistics, you have five points which will never increase, so you must decide carefully on how to distribute them. Later you may reset your statistics for a heavy credit cost." Three categories appeared on his display.
The console spoke again as he touched the first word, "Strength determines carrying capacity, and helps with recoil control. Agility affects your movement speed. Endurance determines your stamina pool and adds additional health. Each stat starts with one point, and are capped at four. Spend your extra five points carefully.”
He spent about a minute toying with the sliders, because it was permanent. Charlie was only allowed one character for his account, so it was important to be happy with his decision. With a finger he tapped the side of the display, and considered his options. He was going to have to sacrifice somewhere. In the end he settled with one point into strength. Next, was his agility. Moving quickly seemed important, and maxing it was an obvious choice. However, being fast wouldn't do him any good if his stamina was pathetic, so he split his remaining points between them.
[Strength - ΟΟ..]
[Agility - ΟΟΟ.]
[Endurance - ΟΟΟ.]
The character’s stats were average, but if he didn't make a decision soon he would be stuck here all day. Charlie hit the accept button, and bubbles filled the cylinder again as his vision changed. It moved, diving forward into the maturing body. For a second, his senses were overloaded as the amniotic fluid rapidly drained from the cylinder. The case opened exposing his new naked body to the cold antiseptic air. He shivered briefly before stepping out.
The viscous fluid pooled at his bare feet as he looked around. The lab was spartan, except a white plastic table a few feet ahead of him. Heaps of carefully folded towels sat atop, and he grabbed several to dry off. The white plastic surface served as an adequate mirror, so Charlie bent, inspecting his lean body in the reflection. His arms were well defined if a little thin, which was probably due to only having two strength. The distorted image flexed a bicep and grinned back at him. For certain this virtual avatar was in marginally better shape than his real world body.
He looked around for an exit. A closed door was the only entrance into the circular room. Before leaving Charlie wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he padded barefoot towards the exit, and it slid open as he neared. A dark haired young man wearing a gray military uniform stood within a room lined with lockers.
"Welcome to Gun Meister Online. I am Vitale, your guide for this part of character creation." The young man began, unphased by Charlie’s near nudity.
"Is this your first time playing?"
"Yes," Charlie said, the astringent smell of a locker room infiltrating his senses.
"You must have many questions." The young man responded and Charlie nodded. He shifted his weight and just barely grabbed the towel before it fell.
"There are a plethora of virtual games, all with roughly the same type of progression. Your character struggles to gain power, skills, and abilities. Not so with Gun Meister. Here your avatar doesn't grow, you do." The young man stated magnanimously. "We strive for a realistic experience. There are no levels, no stat increases, no legendary items, in fact, there is no inventory system at all. We have eliminated the traditional user interface." The young man said with a sympathetic smile, noticing the confusion on Charlie’s face.
"In order to access the system menu touch the side of your temple with two fingers." The young man added, then demonstrated by pressing an index and middle fingers to the side of his head. Charlie followed his example. A small window slid over his vision. Listed within the box was Options, Help, and Logout. When he didn't touch anything the display closed.
"How do I get dressed?" Charlie asked.
"The lockers you see contain uniforms of various sizes, and I suggest a middle one with your build." Vitale said pointing to a locker on the right. Inside was black boxers, g
ray slacks, and a matching military tunic. Underneath the clothes were a pair of socks and combat boots. Charlie took a minute to put them on and immediately felt better. The young man remained where he was passively smiling.
"As you just saw everything must be worn. Guns, equipment, and even ammo will be carried into battle. Winning matches, killing enemies, and surviving will earn you credits. These credits can be used to purchase most items in the game except weapons." His guide said in a rehearsed voice.
"We can't buy guns?" Charlie asked incredulously.
"Gun Meister Online uses a new dynamic NPC system. Every gun in the game is a non-player-character." Charlie’s confusion must have been obvious for the young man nodded in sympathy. "It will be easier just to show you what I mean," he said turning to move down the locker room.
Charlie was guided through the next doorway into a firearms mecca. The walls were a glossy plastic, and hanging in glass frames were dozens of weapon diagrams. Several circular velvet lined tables were set up around the chamber, the middle one being the largest. Pistols nestled neatly in clear stands at the edges. So many pistols he couldn't count them all. A soft blue lighting was recessed into the tables, which set off the guns like cars at a show.
He paused upon entering. Charlie had gone directly from an empty cloning lab to a locker room, and now into what could only be described as an armory. It was like being popped out of the womb and handed running shoes. Charlie was left a little disoriented.
"These weapons have volunteered to be here, pick one pistol. Later if you are unsatisfied with the gun you may seek another." Vitale clarified.
Charlie approached the central table eying the pistols like a kid in a candy store. Black semi-autos sat next to sleek chrome revolvers. There were pistols of every description and none were set in a discernible order. He started to orbit the table feeling very overwhelmed. Not every plastic stand was filled. Several were empty and he wondered what had been there before.
California was a very liberal state. Rainbow flags were trendy, and you could buy weed at every corner store. However, the gun laws were onerous, so he knew little except the portrayal of firearms in action movies and cop shows. Finally, he stopped before a small group of pistols. The middle of the table blossomed with light, and a holo-image of a woman appeared floating above the table. She was a goddess in the truest sense, and the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She had long golden hair and the bluest eyes imaginable, but it was her breasts that drew his gaze. They were big, juicy, and succulent, and he couldn’t help but stare.
Before Charlie, cradled in a clear plastic stand, was a semi-automatic pistol. He reached down picking up the gun. As he did a female voice squealed directly into his ear drum with sheer joy and the image hovering above the table vanished. The pistol was heavier than Charlie expected, but having never held one before, he wasn’t sure if this was normal. He lifted it, turning the gun to inspect it in the blue light. Along the side it read ‘Colt Government Model - 1911’ followed by .45 caliber. After this, there was a stylized picture of a horse.
"Do you accept the gun?" Vitale asked.
Charlie couldn't very well put the pistol down after getting her hopes up. "Yes," he answered turning away from the table. His guide had a look in his eye, and a knowing grin. Charlie flushed in response.
"Go with the pistol into the next room, where she'll take over your instruction. There is much to learn still, so trust in your weapon." Vitale said pointing to the door. Charlie paused and looked back. The young man smiled, nodded to him, and turned to go back into the locker room.
Inside, the shag carpet was a bright cheerful creamy orange. A king sized bed took up almost the entire room and sultry jazz music played in the background.
"What the hell?" He thought to himself. Why was he in a bedroom strait out of a cheesy porno?
"Thank you for picking me," A female voice said next to his ear. The pistol within his grasp began to glow yellow. The light grew in intensity until there was a flash, the goddess from the projection was suddenly standing before him. The woman wore only a black bikini, and stood an inch taller than him with long supple legs. Blonde hair fell over her chest in a cascading waterfall of gold. Her brilliant blue eyes danced, as she assessed him. She was easily the most beautiful woman Charlie had ever laid eyes on.
"Wow," he said not knowing what else to say. She smiled turning around slowly for his inspection.
"What is your name?" She asked in a sweet honey and sugar voice.
"Charlie," he said before a question popped into his head. The game hadn't bothered with a name before. Was this a part of his character creation?
"It didn't ask me for one."
"The system generates a unique ID for every player, so you can call yourself anything you like. If you want to go by a specific handle that can be registered later." She replied almost expecting the question.
"What’s yours?"
"I don't have one, only an object ID just like you. Unless, you would like to give me one?" She asked hopefully. His very first gun and he even got to name her too. Frankly, he was still a little flustered by her beauty.
"Can we wait on the name?" He asked feeling dizzy. She tilted her head.
"I don't mind, you can change it later."
"I want to think of a good one," he replied and she hummed a sweet note. The noise wasn't quite disapproving, but she crossed both arms over her chest.
"Are you really an NPC?"
"Worried I'm secretly human?" She asked him instead.
"It's just, you are so... life like." He replied and the girl grinned in response. She removed an arm from her chest and touched her chin considering him. Was she measuring his eagerness?
"There are currently one hundred thirty-eight databases. Some are physical responses, others spoken, more are esoteric information. I access these and pick a dozen or so things from the options. My personality causes those responses to be weighted in a particular way. There's also my unique database. All of my experiences are stored here,” She said as she tapped her temple. “So that I continue to grow." She finished straightening, and his eyes were drawn back to her chest as it bounced from the movement.
"How do you pick an option, if two are equally weighted?" He asked and she put a hand to her face in surprise.
"Awww, that is so cute," she said her voice a kitten's purr. Reaching forward she caressed his face with a soft skinned hand then added, "You are curious about me." Despite his thirty years of age, he flushed from the contact and she smiled.
"Shall we begin?"
"Begin?" He asked swallowing hard.
"The contract needs to be fulfilled," she coo’d sweetly while moving toward the bed. The woman turned to face him, and her blonde hair fell partially over her chest again. "I'm really happy you asked about me. Please let me be your weapon."
"What do I need to do?" He asked, feeling heat rush over his face.
Instead of answering she reached behind her neck and pulled on the string. Her top fell to the floor, and he gulped as blood rushed away from his brain. Glorious gods above, never before had he seen such a perfect pair of breasts. They were like pillowed melons with perky quarter-sized areola. All the gears within his mind ground to an immediate halt as his groin leaped to attention. Charlie barely noticed as the bikini bottom slid down her legs to the carpet. She sat naked on the bed beckoning him closer, and like a man on a leash stepped toward her.
She unzipped him pushing his trousers down his legs, which was all it took. Charlie dragged his tunic over his head and tossed it to the ground next to her bikini. She laid back on the mattress, and her golden hair made a halo around her head. Charlie fought with his shoelaces before he kicked his boots free, then slid his pants off, and mounted the bed. He regretted not giving her a name, but he still couldn't think of one. There was a metallic fruity smell to her skin as she pulled Charlie closer. Their mouths touched, lips pressing together, and their tongues wrestled. She tasted sweet like cotton candy.
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"Make me yours," she begged pulling him between her legs. His manhood prodded open the entrance to her sex, and as he plunged fully inside, she gasped. Her insides clamped down on his erection, and they both moaned from the intense sensation. Her arms and legs wrapped around his body keeping him from withdrawing. He was too busy sucking on her incredible breasts to notice a collar circle her neck. It started off a clear plastic, but the longer he made love to her, the darker it grew until it was completely black. Numbers began to glow on the band a faint yellow, which was his unique ID. It was ten minutes later when he finished. Charlie wasn't as young as he used to be, nor as practiced. She was still smiling though as he withdrew from her.
"Please make good use of me," she said moving to the edge of the bed, so she could gather her bikini. She began to dress by first tying her bottom back on. Charlie followed her example still rather dazed by the experience.
"Just so you know. Our contract must be reaffirmed once a month," the woman said gazing at his naked rear. He had turned away to pull on his boxers but paused. "I would prefer daily, though," she continued. So that was why he'd gone through so many hoops to confirm his identity. The game had been rated mature and required his social security number before he could finalize his account. At the time he'd assumed it was because of the violence.